The process of packing chunks of meat to form composite meat products such as hams having a relatively uniform consistency throughout, for example as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,076,713 and 4,337,597 is carried out by mechanically working the meat chunks, usually with added salt, to form a heavy porridge like exudate on the surface of the meat, which is then packed into bulk portions and cured. It is also known, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,680, to form the exudate separately, and to mix this with chunks of meat using a stirrer, following which the mixed mass is packed and cured.
The above processes may be carried out using substantially automated apparatus, for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,349 which discloses an oscillating vane meat pump, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,188,767; 4,417,484; 4,651,498 and 5,352,151 which disclose portioning and stuffing apparatus, all of which are commonly assigned herewith or to a predecessor of the assignee hereof, and all of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,906, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto, there is described a method of bonding meat chunks using a thin coat of bonding agent. In accordance with this process, a two part settable adhesive is employed to coat the surface of the muscle meat. The first of the parts comprises a solution of fibrinogen, and the second comprises a solution of thrombin, which parts optionally include factors such as transaminase and calcium ions for example, which may affect the rate of set-up of the adhesive and the strength of the bonds created thereby.
Although the aforementioned two-part adhesive has been generally known for several years, its use has been limited to the hand packing methods. Several attempts have been made heretofore to adapt the method for use with mechanized packing machinery, particularly where the meat comprises smaller chunks (the so called B cuts), without success. Currently these B cuts of meat are processed into ground meat often at an economic loss to the packer.
One reason for the failure to adapt the adhesive for commercial use is that if the adhesive is applied by conventional mixing apparatus, the adhesive is found to set up on the walls of the apparatus to form an intractable coating during the course of an average working shift, which requires considerable labour for its removal. A further reason is that the adhesive is applied to the muscle meat as a thin surface coat, and in the event that the meat is sheared subsequently to its being coated with either or both parts of the adhesive, this will lead to zones of cohesive non-uniformity within the finished product. Accordingly, when such thinly bonded product is sliced, it may disintegrate at the non-uniformity, leading to product rejection and loss. The problem associated with shearing is not encountered where meat exudate is used for bonding because of the relatively large amount of exudate that is normally present which provides a thick, flowable envelope about the meat prior to its being coagulated.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method for applying a thin, uniform coating of liquid material to the surface of chunks meat.
It is another object of this invention to provide such method which is suitable where the liquid material is a two part adhesive.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a generally automated method for uniformly cohering meat chunks using a thinly applied two part adhesive.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a method in accordance with any of the foregoing objects which is suitable for use with packing machinery with relatively little change thereto.
It is a further object of this invention to provide improvements to adapt commercially available automatic meat packing machinery and to modify existing machinery so as to be utilizable both for the formation of traditionally thickly bonded meat chunk products and for the formation of thinly bonded meat chunk products, particularly where the thin bonding agent is a two part settable adhesive.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide method and apparatus for economically processing small cuts of meat to significantly increase the value thereof.